San Mateo: 31st Union restaurant owners moving on to a cocktail concept

Nine years after opening 31st Union, their creative California concept, in downtown San Mateo, David and Susan Hunsaker are moving on.

But fans will find them just blocks away.

Their elite new concept, the Fogbird Lounge, will open soon on South B Street. There they will serve craft cocktails, bar bites and a curated selection of wine and beer.

The decision came after months of introspection, say the Hunsakers, whose 31st Union restaurant aimed to source ingredients from within the state of California, the 31st state in the union.

“For nearly 9 years we served dinner and drinks to a packed house. We built a successful business doing what we love,” they wrote in a letter to customers.

Then COVID-19 hit, and their cozy corner operation wasn’t conducive to outdoor dining. But they made the best of things within the limits of the pandemic restrictions.

“We sold buckets of fried chicken to a clamoring waitlist of fans and created special holiday dinners for your lock-down escape. We opened again for in-person dining, but only kind of. Lots of great restaurants pulled off outdoor dining, but our sloped corner near the firehouse just wasn’t meant for it. … So when we were faced with an expiring lease and a less-than-ideal COVID structure, we closed our doors to do some soul-searching.”

The result was Fogbird, with a prime location at 144 South B St., formerly home to the Downtown Tiki Lounge.

The Hunsakers are calling Fogbird “a lounge where you can gather, find joy and take a moment of respite with a craft cocktail in hand.” They’ve also started a complementary business, Fogbird Cocktails, to offer cocktail classes and ready-to-drink canned beverages.